Liberty hasn't had much luck against Pinnacle recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Lions will venture away from home to take on the Pioneers at 3:45 p.m. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Having struggled with nine losses in a row, Liberty turned things around against Boulder Creek on Tuesday. They skirted past the Jaguars 9-8. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Lions have posted since March 14th.
Violet Mitchell was incredible, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Emily Madrid was another key player, going 3-for-4 with three RBI, one run, and one double.
Meanwhile, Pinnacle faced Mountain Ridge in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Tuesday. The Pioneers put the hurt on the Mountain Lions with a sharp 12-3 victory. The Pioneers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won nine matchups by six runs or more this season.
Pinnacle got a massive performance out of Payton Crank, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. Crank also put up a stolen base, which was her first of the season. Another player making a difference was Torynn Slaughter, who went 4-for-5 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI.
Pinnacle lost a few balls and finished the game with three home runs. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Mountain Ridge didn't launched any home runs.
Pinnacle has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 13-6-1 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.7 runs on average over those games. As for Liberty, their victory was their first in the region, bumping their region record up to 1-6 and their overall record up to 7-14-1.
Thursday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Liberty hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .315. However, it's not like Pinnacle struggles in that department as they've averaged .354. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Liberty suffered a grim 6-0 defeat to Pinnacle in their previous meeting two weeks ago. Can the Lions avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
